Clarke has always denied he or that incident had anything to do with Katich’s fall from grace, and delved further into the selection process on Big Sports Breakfast.

“The three they had to choose from was Ricky Ponting, Michael Hussey and Simon Katich,” Clarke said on the radio show on Monday.

“They were going to give contracts to two of those three players and they went with Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey ahead of Simon Katich. So his contract selection had absolutely nothing to do with me.”

Clarke claims he even pushed for Katich to be recalled during Australia’s 2013 Ashes campaign in the UK.

“You are entitled to feel whatever you feel but I can tell you now, on that Ashes tour I fought to have him back into that squad because, I agree, we needed a top order batsman, and his numbers were outstanding over a long period of time.”

The former captain maintains he never had a personal issue with Katich but understands why there is constant speculation he was the man who ended the veteran’s career.

“I understand a lot of people’s question and frustrations around it because it was in and around the time, I had become captain of the team, new contracts had to be done, there was Chinese whispers about what exactly happened in the change room.

“I can understand why the public thought, okay now all of a sudden Michael’s become captain he doesn’t like Simon so he doesn't want him in the team.”

Katich played his final Test for Australia in December 2010, unceremoniously exiting the format with an average of 46.82, two centuries and five fifties in his final year.

“You don’t have to be Einstein to figure out that it’s not just the selectors that had a part in sending me on my way,” Katich said in October 2011. “I mean to be brutally honest obviously what happened in the dressing room here a few years ago didn’t help my cause. And obviously the captain and coach are selectors.